All of my usual stores are rearranging and changing what they put on their shelves. I'm sensing that the big uptick in prices will start to arrive shortly, maybe before Christmas. I'm interested to hear what the impressions of FRugal Freepers. What are you seeing? What will you be buying in quanity before TSHTF?

Just this past week, I have been noticing some big changes in the stores where I buy things for my family. I shop all the grocers, because they all carry some little thing that the other stores don't carry. I've noticed that some of the upscale items are getting harder to find, like good beef. Not a store within forty miles now carries first-rate Angus. The Acai berry juice I like to mix with water has disappeared from shelves. Everything seems a little more down-scale and while I'm not noticing a sudden increase in price, I sure am noticing a decrease in Quality.

Walmart keeps signaling that they are going to start raising the prices. I'm filling up my freezer with good meat, stocking my basement shelves with canned goods, and have decided to load up on paper goods.

Oddly enough, have noticed no change in price or quality for beer and wine.

1) I'm thinking of putting in at least a year's supply of non perishables: 2) In particular, lots of paper products like TP, paper towels, etc. which I expect to jump up in price along with food 3) Plenty of my favorite cleaning supplies

Mamzelle,
Years ago I asked a 90+ year old woman who grew up a farm girl on the stepps of Russia, bubbie, you’ve seen so many new and wonderful things come in your lifetime. Planes, t.v. Telephones, computers, etc. what are you most glad came along.
She thought for about thirty seconds and said TOILET PAPER.
Get two years worth. Trade a roll for cartons of cigarettes.

“1) I’m thinking of putting in at least a year’s supply of non perishables: 2) In particular, lots of paper products like TP, paper towels, etc. which I expect to jump up in price along with food 3) Plenty of my favorite cleaning supplies”

A bit wimpy if you ask me. You need about 4 years worth of supplies to weather through what’s coming. After 4 years, we’ll likely be starting to get our footing again as a country. Obviously you need the space and the money too. Regarding money, my supplies (probably about $10k worth in value) have hedged inflation than any of my ‘investments’, so you’re not really losing anything if you intend to use all of it (which can be tough with food...but food is a different story).

So, for non-perishibles, again, I use my 4-year rule, which does require a lot of volume for TP and especially paper towels, but not nearly as much for other stuff (soap products, motor oil, bags of all types, etc.). For food, I only try to hold 6 months, although I’d likely have more if I didn’t live in Houston and had a basement to use.

I guess I'll add cereals to the list--no way to buy much milk in advance.

Also went to Whole Foods--which seems to be unchanged, although with my usual grocers getting rid of luxury goods, WF stock might be an item. I made a little bit following this years run up of WF. (Although it's a more practical "stock" I'm talking about.)

Each store in L.A. have their own stuff that are cheap. Jons’ for fruits and veggies, Ralphs for eggs and milk, and Food 4 Less for close to everything. My measuring stick is Kroger’s stuff. And yes, beer has been the same because I replenish my booze every 2 weeks.

I started buying 12/eggs at the 99cent store and I’ve made it a rule never to buy a dozen eggs worth more than $1.25. Target usually did, but now it’s $2.

Underwear. Of course, I'm always looking for a good deal on unmentionables. But I've come to the conclusion, as long as there's a good, solid supply of underwear, society will continue to thrive. What do you think toppled the Roman Empire? Yeah, I've heard the stories about lead in the aqueducts and the blatant sexual promiscuity- but it's the lack of good, clean undergarments which destroyed Nero and his lot. As the great Roman philosopher, Clyde Crahscup, once said: "Semper ubi sub ubi."

22
posted on 07/24/2011 1:23:17 PM PDT
by Krankor
(I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in.)

Diapers went up 11% recently. I have enough to get us through the first two months when our daughter arrives, but I think we’re going to go to cloth after that with disposables at night. We’ll see how it works for us.

I have been living on my stocks off and on for a few years, I remember having 25 pounds of grits, and wondering if I was going overboard, but it is all gone now.

I have gone through all my 8 year old tuna, and am now into the more recent stuff that I got at the price of 3 for a dollar just 3(?) years ago, I think I bought 120 cans of it, which at the time took me to around 200, or 220 cans of tuna.

29
posted on 07/24/2011 1:26:59 PM PDT
by ansel12
( Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid Of Life: My Journey So Far" became a New York Times, best seller.)

40 gallons, ha!!! Although it’s not premium. It is double Stabil-ized, so should be good for 2 years, although I rotate about every 18 months. Needless to say, I have multiple gasoline stoves and lanterns. I expect to be inconvenienced by the soon-to-arrive blackouts, but still be quite comfortable.

Every time I go by Wal Mart I stop in and get at least a dozen incandescent light bulbs. We have four separate shelves in a spare closet; 40w, 60w, 75w, and 100. Now we’re starting on floods for the exterior.

Youbetcha! Mostly (and in this order) Twinkies (they - like cockroaches, will be the only things left after the nuclear holocaust), dehydrated water (way easier to carry than its counterpart), and sunblock 45 (I hate getting sunburned...and with global warming imminent, one cannot be tooo careful)

We get our organic Acai juice from Costco — 2 bottles, 32-ounces each, for 9.99. We just discovered it (or they just started carrying it), so I’m not sure if the price has gone up.

Starting to buy more supplements and vitamins, most have a pretty good shelf life. That’s not only for WTSHTF but for all the other one-world government control, seizure of anything you do for yourself nightmare.

A bottle I bought this afternoon rang up higher at the checkout than it was listed on the shelf. They adjusted to give me the shelf price, but said they’d put the higher price in their system and just hadn’t got the higher price posted on the shelf yet.

I don’t so much stock up as I buy things when they are on special and in season.

I think to really qualify, the increase in demand has to be because of, and not just in spite of, the price rise. This means that the price rise itself has to cause a reduction in disposable income, which causes more upscale consumption to be eliminated in favor of the downscale last resort item.

At any rate, people are being herded into McDonald's by the current conditions.

We're pretty big into supplementation and I've encouraged my husband to add his fave protein powder to our provisions. We are big fans of vitacost.com because they have the independently tested brands that we like and they have the best prices. I'm thinking some multi-vit, D3, and C for the stockpile, with the purpose being to support our immune systems against things. I also have printed off and laminated some tried and true natural remedies. All I gotta say is garlic is a cure-all!

I think were going to go to cloth after that with disposables at night.

Good point... in a time of social breakdown, disposable diapers would be hard to come by ... four dozen cloth diapers can get a baby from infancy to two... ( the long ones that have to be folded work best...) and extra diaper pins... and lots of detergent...

The freezers are full of meat, and some veggies from last years garden. Lots of canned beans, and dehydrated stuff or canned stuff I make when the freezer is too full for more.

I started tracking back in 2008. We have seen extreme inflation of food prices and the incredible shrinking package. Meats at grocery stores are now select instead of choice to compete with Walmart, which has plenty of the cheaper “select” cuts.

I leave the ammo and stuff to Hubby.

46
posted on 07/24/2011 1:37:08 PM PDT
by greeneyes
(Moderation in defense of your country is NO virtue. Let Freedom Ring.)

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